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False Primarch Project
During the Primaris Project there was a notion that certain marines could be bread as a new breed of commander, like the Primarchs before them. Never meant to surpass them, none could outdo the Emperor’s handywork, but designed to support them; the result was a marine on the same scale as the Grey Knights Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights or a Captain-General of the Custodes. The project was authorized by the High Lords of Terra. The goal of the project was to give a primarch or primarchs subordinates who could enact their will without chapter loyalty getting in the way. They were expected to serve in roles as: subordinate generals, small special operations teams, envoys, and in a capacity similar to how Custodes protect the emperor. Gene-Seed The gene-seed of the false primarchs was not that of the Emperor himself, that much is clear, but it is unknown exactly what was used. Some suspect that Clerval added bits of his own DNA to the concoction out of his hubris. Hidden away in the deepest research notes of the project, redacted to the highest level, is the following cryptic passage from the head researcher, “We hunted them, his children, for centuries and exterminated them; his own flesh and blood. Their blood was on our hands, his blood, and we did not put that to waste. Even diluted we had collected enough genetic samples from them that we could build some approximation of his magnificence. It was a witch's brew, an eye of newt and tail of dog, but the pieces fit so well that we had a painting with but a few blemishes on it when we were done. So it was that, in our hubris, we crafted a homunculus Emperor in test tube and from him we gave birth to his newborn sons.” -- Magos Dominus Clerval Clerval’s Madness Magos Dominus Clerval, one of Archmagos Cawl’s head researchers, was assigned to the task of overseeing the project and conducted it in secret. It was called the “Primarch Secundus” project on paper and it was to be Clerval’s greatest work. He worked tirelessly in secret, sharing his thoughts and progress only with Cawl and his few assistants, for a milenium before completing his task. By this point though, his mental state was so weakened by fatigue, fervor, and drive that he had unknowingly fallen prey to Tzeentch’s silent whispers. Magos Dominus Clerval began to believe he was, in fact, a shard of the Emperor’s consciousness giving birth to the next true Primarchs, but this was not the case. He saw himself as the inheritor of the legacy, the next cycle of actions, and in his madness decided things needed to play out in the same (or similar) fashion that the original primarchs’ stories did. So, his mind touched with the madness of Chaos, when he completed his work he destroyed his own lab and scattered his false primarchs among the stars. He did not, of course, send them through the warp but rather arranged to have them transported to several key worlds in secret. Then, adoring himself in golden armor complete with matching mechadendrites, he set off to “reclaim them”. He convinced his superiors that they had been stolen by the forces of Chaos and that only he knew where they were. He used this lie to prove that his work was indeed powerful and successful since the forces of Chaos apparently regarded it as a threat equal to the original Primarchs. While Cawl was suspicious he authorized the expeditionary forces. The False Legions Unbeknownst to Cawl, Clerval’s staff had been producing marines based on various unknown gene-seeds (not the False Primarch's) on his Ark Mechanicus and they served as his legionaries during that time. Altogether he had about a chapter’s worth of marines and none had the primaris upgrades. These marines were known officially as “Secundus Astartes” and were a transitory stage between Astartes and Primaris marine. These marines did not receive the same level of training as their battle brothers as their creation was secretive. They were indoctrinated to be loyal to Clerval first, to one of the false primarch second, and the Imperium third. The Reclaiming It took Clerval almost a thousand years to recover, or at least learn of the fate of all of his false primarchs, whom he referred to as his children. Each had a different story to tell, a different and difficult relationship with their creator, and each had a profoundly different relationship with the Imperium at large. Several that returned with Clerval fought in the Indomitus Crusade in ancillary engagements. The Death of Clerval & Fates The nature of the Primarch Secundus project and Clerval was known to Roboute Guilliman but, as Clerval had been gone so long it was assumed that it had failed. During the Siege of Nar’Whin though, Clerval arrived and brought “reinforcements” in the form of several of the False Primarchs and their legionaries. Feelings were initially mixed, they had proven effective but their very nature was off putting. Clerval declared himself the reincarnation of the Emperor at this point, his madness now clearly visible to all, and he was killed by one of his own false primarchs for such heresies. The aftermath of the Primarch Secundus project is shrouded in mystery. None of False Primarchs are listed as having survived the Siege of Nar’Whin, though contradictory claims and rumors abound. Some rumors suggest they were re-founded as Ultima founding chapters and that Guilliman himself spared some of the the false primarchs and allowed their chapters to be founded under the guise of Ultramarine successors. The False Primarchs # “The Paranoid” # “The Crippled” # “The Sword in the Dark” # --Unknown-- # “The Unborn” # “The Eater” # “The Biter” # “The Coward” # --Unknown-- # --Unknown--